During a ceremony at the Charles University in Prague, KU Leuven has concluded the Central Europe Leuven Strategic Alliance (Celsa), a cooperation agreement with six universities from Hungary, Slovenia, and Czech Republic. The institutions involved are centuries old and renowned in their own country, but for various reasons, they have not yet been able to reach their full potential.
“Rough diamonds,” rector Rik Torfs calls them. He’s satisfied with the agreement. KU Leuven and the Central European universities will organise joint study programmes and work together to find solutions for major European problems. In addition, the universities aim to secure more European research funding by submitting joint projects, particularly from Horizon 2020, a European Union research programme worth almost €80 billion.
“Government support for universities is dwindling due to the crisis,” says Ivan Svetlik, rector of the University of Ljubljana. “That’s why we have to look for European funding. KU Leuven will definitely be able to help us with their expertise in that area.”
“According to the European Commission, too much money is currently going to the strong Western European universities,” says Vice Rector for international policy Danny Pieters. “Europe wants to see a change. But submitting proposals to secure European research funding is a fairly complex procedure. Our researchers are assisted by specialists. From now on, they will also assist the six partner universities in Central Europe.”
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